


anyone else but you

by dollylux



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Episode: e060-066 The Stolen Century Parts 1-7, Exhibitionism, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Heist, M/M, Master/Pet, Pining Magnus, Protective Magnus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 18:43:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21324868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dollylux/pseuds/dollylux
Summary: After getting a lead on the location of the Light of Creation, Taako and Magnus seek to integrate themselves into this world's strange culture by going undercover to retrieve it. As Master and Pet, of course.
Relationships: Magnus Burnsides/Taako, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 98
Collections: The Taagnus Week Collection





	anyone else but you

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is inspired by Captive Prince, specifically the Inn Scene with "He's Expensive" Laurent and a hapless Damen acting as his Master. Essentially, this is a world in which people can be purchased and owned and considered 'pets,' so steer clear if that's not your thing.
> 
> Taagnus Week Day Three Prompt: Fake Dating
> 
> Title from The Moldy Peaches

“Hello,” the woman says.

Her eyes linger on Magnus, on his rugged beard and dark eyes, on his broad trunk of a chest and his arms. The gaze comes to a halt immediately when she gets to his left elbow.

She frowns, very slightly.

“How can I help y’all?”

Magnus can sense the conversation happening in the gaps of silence, the one being communicated between the woman’s light blue eyes and the fluorite ones of the creature beside him. Of Taako, who is unmoving as a watchful cat at his side, wrapped around Magnus’s arm as he is.

Taako frowns with his whole body, exuding disapproval with a single glance. And Magnus should know.

“We want a room,” Taako says, his voice airier than usual, dismissive. Magnus is aware of the heat flaring on his own face, down his neck. “The best room you’ve got.”

“Two beds or--”

Taako snorts and manages to make it sound cute and scathing all at once.

“One, dear. Just one. And we would like a bath drawn up in an hour or so. But first--”

He shifts against Magnus’s side, and Magnus feels the point of his chin against his shoulder. He looks over and sees Taako’s beautiful face, the one framed by spills of winter blond hair and accented by the sparkling ruby earring dangling from his right ear. It glints in the candlelight of the tavern and Magnus feels bewitched.

“Are you hungry, Master?”

Magnus feels like he’s caught on fire.

“Uh--uh, yeah. Yeah, sure. Starving.”

“And a dinner, please. Hot, not just leftovers you have in the back. And your best wine--”

“And a pint of ale,” Magnus adds in, glancing at Taako almost apologetically. “Please.”

“Now,” Taako clarifies.

The woman looks between them, frowning as much as her future tip will allow her to, and gives a brief nod.

“Right this way.”

Taako, subservient in a way his nature has never allowed, waits for Magnus to lead the way into the tavern proper and the table to which they’re being escorted. He rubs his cheek against Magnus’s arm and steps lightly, as if he’s not used to walking on his own. As if Magnus usually carries him everywhere.

The eyes of every single patron in the bar is on them before Magnus can even take a seat.

Taako stands beside Magnus, cool eyes flicking this way and that as his ears lift and flatten against his head, and Magnus can do nothing but look up and watch him.

This planet is strange. It’s full of humans and humanoid beings, all with their own cultures and technological advancements and universities and histories, but theirs is a world of strict roles, the likes of which Magnus has never seen before. Not in public. Not outside of a bedroom.

The wealthy here have companions, ones they call pets. The pets are adored and taken care of, as the name implies. They’re entitled and spoilt and exquisite. And once the seven of them determined that the Light of Creation was being kept and hidden away by one of these wealthy men with a near harem of pets, they’d decided there were only a few ways to get close enough to steal it away.

And no one had argued that Taako was beautiful and aloof enough to play the part of the pet. Magnus had then been immediately volunteered and chosen, by Taako himself. The space for argument was nonexistent.

So they’d found him a nice suit and Lup had given Magnus a trim--both head hair and beard hair, but not the sideburns--and they’d made their way here, to The Marble Cup.

Their target, Lord Everest Lancinglight, is two tables away and near the fireplace, three lovely creatures around him, their genders unclear and unimportant. He’s feeding the three of them from his own plate, sliding bits of cheese and meat and fruit past full lips, his voice carrying over the din of the rest of the room, elevating him to the status of a king here, tonight.

Magnus bristled at the sight of him. He knows a straight up bastard when he sees one.

“Taako, I don’t know--”

The slightest weight settles in Magnus’s lap, and he looks up to see Taako sitting on him, side saddle. Taako’s dressed in gauzy, flimsy layers tonight, ones made up of sheer fabrics laced with gold and dotted with tiny stars of the same hue, so the graceful line of his arm is visible when he lifts it and drapes it over Magnus’s shoulders.

Magnus sucks in a noisy breath. He’s stopped talking all together.

“He’s looking,” Taako murmurs when he leans in close, mouth touching Magnus’s ear. It lingers after he’s done speaking, and Magnus has to force his eyes to stay open.

“Well, we are strangers,” Magnus manages to say, one arm resting on the table while the other dangles awkwardly at his side. He wants to reach up, to wrap it around Taako’s little waist, but. But he’s not there yet.

“Mm.” The vibration tickles the tiny hairs on Magnus’s ear. He shivers. “True. But I think he’s looking at me. He likes looking at me.”

_God, who doesn’t?_ Magnus wants to say, but he swallows instead. His mouth opens and closes a few times, but nothing’s said, in the end.

“I wonder if he’d like to have me for the night,” Taako muses, like this is acceptable conversation. “I’m sure he’d be willing to pay. How much would you take for me? We should figure that out--”

“That’s _not_\--” Magnus snarls, his voice carrying further than he’d intended. He stops, taking a deep breath. Drops his tone to a low whisper. “That’s not gonna happen. That’s not exactly part of our plan.”

“The plan is to get the Light,” Taako insists, wiggling a little in his lap to face him more. Magnus grits his teeth and tries to ignore the movement on his cock. “I can’t think of a better way to get close to it than to be in his bedroom. Can you?”

A beat of silence, and then Magnus realizes it’s an actual question.

“I’ll… I mean. I’ll think of something. _We’ll_ think of something. Just not that. You’re not for sale.”

“Aww,” Taako trills, grinning now with a glossy pink mouth, his fingers lifting to tickle over Magnus’s sideburn, scritching at it. “You gettin’ sweet on me, Mags?”

Magnus gazes up at him, meeting Taako’s eyes with too much honesty for this to be a secret mission, for this to be an elaborate lie. He sees the second Taako catches the rawness of the moment, sees the falter in his painted face.

“How about I go invite him over to have dinner with us? Maybe we can squeeze an invite back to his place that way.”

“You’re just determined to get into his bed, huh?” Magnus snaps, humiliated when Taako laughs.

“Who knows? _You_ might be his type, my man.” Taako slaps Magnus’s cheek, his grin wicked and amused. “So, is that a yes?”

Magnus sighs.

“Would you even listen to me if I said no?”

Taako hops up from his lap. Magnus’s dick softens a little in disappointment.

“Nope!” Taako chirps. He saunters across the room, the solid fabric at the core of his outfit very short, revealing just a hint of the bottom curves of his ass, but the long falls of soft tulle over top obscure the view. Magnus watches, his heart in his throat.

“Here you are,” the barkeep says, setting plates and bowls full of various foods on the table, along with cutlery and glasses and a large mug of frothy ale. Magnus realizes only in that second that he really is hungry. 

“Thank you!” Magnus grabs a knife and reaches for a juicy steak on a plate nearby, and he’s got a sizable chunk of it in his mouth before he realizes the lady is still standing at his side, like she’s waiting for something.

“You, uh--” he says, the words garbled around the food in his mouth. He chews for a long moment, trying to hurry it along so he can finish his sentence. “Ah. Want us to pay now?”

“No!” the woman says, laughing with a small hand lighting on his shoulder. He quirks an eyebrow and looks up at her, surprised at how brazen she’s being. “It’s not that. I was just… wondering. There’s no ring on your finger. On your pet’s finger either. Are you simply on a playdate? Or is he on loan?”

Magnus looks down at his massive left hand, at how very bare it is. Shit. He _knew_ they’d forget something.

“Oh! No.” He attempts some of Taako’s wealthy entitlement in his tone, flicking his knife dismissively as he swallows the steak finally. “No, not at all. He found some new rings for us in Skystonya last week, and he insisted that we buy them. They’re resizing them. He needs one very small, and well.”

He holds up a meaty paw, wiggling his fingers.

The woman practically swoons.

“You do have _very_ big hands,” she says with a sigh.

“So I’ll return to pick them up next week. And then we’ll, uh. We’ll have our rings back. To show that we’re… you know.”

“Mated?” she supplies.

“Yes. Mated.” Magnus looks over for the first time and sees Taako standing beside Lord Lancinglight, sees the way the guy has an arm around Taako’s waist, right where Magnus had been working up to touching, and the way his hand is spread, nearly cupping Taako’s ass.

It’s like a red mask is pulled over his eyes. He shoots up from his seat, the dishes rattling with the motion. The patrons of the tavern turn as one to look up at Magnus, some confused, some already frightened.

Taako looks over at him, lazy-eyed and knowing. His smile is slow and seems to be trying to communicate something to Magnus, like chill out or calm down or we’re playing roles here, and who do you think you are to get pissed about this anyway?

Magnus snaps his fingers, a sound that makes every single pet in the room sit up straight and at attention. Taako just raises his eyebrows.

Magnus curves a pointed finger from Taako back to himself, his instructions clear. 

“Now,” he says out loud.

He hears a few pets sigh around the room.

Taako pouts, a bratty scowl overtaking his pretty face as he slinks back over to Magnus and curls up against his chest with venturing hands that end up in Magnus’s coat pockets.

“I was just making some new connections for us,” he says, and it almost sounds earnest. Magnus can feel Taako looking for coins, and he just barely contains an eyeroll. “You didn’t have to get all alpha on me.”

“He’s _dangerous_, Taako,” Magnus says under his breath, his eyes trained across the room, on the lord at the largest table. “You heard stories about him, too. Especially the rumors about him killing some of his pets for--”

Taako scoffs, lifting back to meet Magnus’s eyes.

“I’m not gonna be one of his pets! Are you kidding me? We’re only gonna be here for a few more months. That’s not nearly enough time to experience Taako.”

Magnus feels a little dizzy. He hasn’t even had a drink yet.

“It’s… it’s not?”

Taako’s face softens, like he knows he’s got Magnus again.

“Hmm-mmm. Gotta have at least a year for the full experience. Even then, you’re missing out on the bonus content.”

“You look so pretty tonight,” Magnus says, the tone and the topic completely incongruent with what they were just talking about, but Taako’s eyes are glittering in the candlelight and his hands have stilled in their pilfering of his pockets. Taako rests his chin on Magnus’s chest and grins, full and genuine.

“You think so?” He bats his lashes that are lengthened and accentuated by his coveted mascara, one that he’s kept fresh with magic for years and years. Magnus can smell his perfume from this close, the black pepper and rose of it. 

He gathers up some courage and wraps his arms around Taako’s waist, holding him as carefully as he deserves.

“The most beautiful person in here. Or anywhere.”

“Careful, Mags. Don’t want these people to think you’re in love with me. Masters are supposed to have a collection of pets. Like, a whoooole menagerie.” 

Magnus lifts a shoulder in a shrug. The lady has gone back to tending her bar, and no one else is even visible in Magnus’s eyeline. 

“If I were a Master, I’d only have one.”

Taako gives him a wry smile.

“Why? No stamina?”

“My heart only comes whole. Not in pieces. I could never share.”

Taako looks lost now, like he’s woken up in an unfamiliar situation and he’s desperately trying to get his bearings. Magnus can feel Taako’s hands curl into loose fists in his pockets, and Magnus feels a sudden fear rush through him, like they’re standing on the edge of a cliff and he’s leaning forward.

“Excuse me. Magnus, is it?”

He catches himself in that moment, like a snapshot: he’s staring at Taako’s mouth, his hands wide and covetous on his hips, and he can feel Taako’s heart beating against his own chest like a tiny fist.

He blinks once at the intrusive voice, the tavern blurring and coming into sharp focus when he realizes they’re being interrupted. And also: that there’s something to interrupt.

It’s the dickbag Lord Everest, his mouth slick with grease and his beard dotted with bread crumbs. He’s addressing Magnus but he’s looking at Taako, and at the sight of Everest’s hand lifting to touch Taako, Magnus shifts them completely.

“Sir Magnus,” he corrects, turning so that Taako is behind him and hidden completely from sight, and he frowns down at the intruder for a few tense beats before holding out his hand. “You must be Everest.”

“So I am,” Everest says, pleased to be recognized. He puts his hand in Magnus’s grasp and Magnus squeezes hard as they shake. Everest flinches, and Magnus holds back a smirk. “Your little doll there introduced himself earlier. I wonder if you might want to join me at my table? It’s not often we get interesting people in these parts.”

Taako is at Magnus’s back, and he stays where Magnus placed him for an admirable length of time. He pops back out as soon as the invitation is extended to Magnus, his slim fingers tucking between Magnus’s, tickling his palm and playing with the edge of Magnus’s sleeve. His eyes are child-wide and pleading, and Magnus can’t tell if it’s for the rouse or if he’s for real.

“C’mon, papa bear. Please? You didn’t take me shopping today like you promised. You owe me.” The words are thinly veiled and seductive, like the checks and balances between them really hinge on Taako giving up his gorgeous body to Magnus on the regular. 

To punctuate his plea, Taako lifts up onto his tiptoes and presses his lips to Magnus’s ear, but his voice is not exactly a whisper when he speaks.

“If you say yes, tonight I’ll let you lick it out of me after you’re done.”

Magnus has died a few different ways at this point. But perishing from sexual combustion in the middle of a bar hasn’t happened yet. He feels faint, and he has to lock his knees to keep from sinking to the ground to attempt something desperate.

Lord Everest is beaming at how dirty Taako is, and he turns and starts back to his own table, fully expecting Magnus and his pet to follow.

Magnus charges forward and practically elbows Everest out of the way to get there. Taako laughs, silvery and triumphant, as he follows behind. Magnus pulls out a seat for Taako, and he can barely meet his eyes when Taako puts a hand on his own hip and manages to look offended.

“Really, Sir. _Really._ I don’t sit anywhere but your lap, ever. You know that.”

He pushes Magnus down into the chair and crawls up into his lap, his arms wrapped snug around Magnus’s neck, his whole body curled so he can snuggle his face into his neck.

He lets out such a sweet, contented sigh that Magnus almost bursts into tears.

“I’m sorry, little love,” he murmurs, hand stroking down over Taako’s thick braid while the other arm wraps around him, keeping him close. “Hey, are you hungry?”

Magnus feeds Taako from the plates the barkeep has hurried to transfer from their old table to the new one, and Magnus doesn’t so much as glance at the women around them; one kneeling at the feet of her Master and two standing over him to pet and fawn over him while he sucks meat off a decimated bone. All he can focus on is Taako. His soft mouth when he opens it to receive whatever food Magnus is holding up to it, his pink tongue that skirts over his lips as he’s chewing, and the secret sounds of him chewing and swallowing, all with Magnus’s fingers still there against his mouth, slick with food and saliva and adoring the elf in his lap without a shred of self-consciousness.

This was a part Magnus was born to play.

“Is this a full service pet?” Everest asks casually as he sips from his glass, his mouth staying open afterwards so one of the women near him can spoon a jumble of peas into it. Everest is still eyeing Taako, watching his movements with interest, like maybe he wants to test his sturdiness and his flanks, like a cattle at auction.

Magnus stops mid-chew and looks over, blood rushing in his ears yet again just as Taako squeezes Magnus’s bicep in a gentle warning. He swallows and takes a deep breath and tries to come up with what a soulless bastard would say to that.

“Oh, of course,” he laughs, bringing his hand down in a light slap on the side of Taako’s thigh. Taako squeaks, but most of the sound is muffled in the bread he’s biting into. “This one does everything. Brushes the horses, washes the dishes, lights the candles and delivers messages to my mother--”

“Yes, but do you fuck him?”

Magnus stares at him blankly. Taako stills in his lap, and Magnus can feel those eyes burning on him, too.

“Don’t be a prude,” Everest continues when Magnus hesitates for too long, his laugh lazy and drunken. “I fuck all of mine. Each one’s got a different speciality. You know how it is. Miette here has a bottomless throat. She’ll take any dick, any time. No gag reflex.”

The curly-haired woman knelt beside Everest sits up a little straighter, her cheeks pink but she looks proud. 

“Josalin here likes it up the ass. Don’t you, honey?” The blonde holding Everest’s spoon smirks at Magnus, her eyes lidded and dark. “And Leanna here is new, just bought her last week. Haven’t figured out her speciality yet, but she rides like a dream.”

Everest pats Leanna on the cheek, and it seems to fluster her so much that she rattles the plates as she hurries to put her hands back in her lap and duck her head. 

Magnus’s eyes widened when Everest started talking and they haven’t returned to their original size since, and he knows with no small amount of humiliation that his face is bright red. Taako laughs, clear and effortless, as he lifts Magnus’s pint of ale to his master’s lips to give him something to do.

“You need _several_ pets to do all those things? Oh, dear. My, my. Isn’t that quaint, Sir?” 

Magnus swallows the ale given to him and looks up at Taako, flushed and painfully out of his depth. He sees a tiny change in Taako’s expression, a tensing of his jaw or a loaded widening of his eyes, and it snaps him out of it. He forces out a laugh and hopes it sounds flippant.

“Adorable,” Magnus agrees, lifting his hand to motion for dessert. He lowers it back down and runs a curled finger along Taako’s smooth cheek, following it down his neck and his chest to his arm. He laces their fingers together and brings Taako’s hand to his mouth where he presses a soft kiss. His closed eyes keep him from seeing any fleeting disgust or discomfort on Taako’s face. “I only need one. My angel here satisfies me utterly. There’s not a single thing I desire beyond him.”

“Master,” Taako murmurs, feigning bashfulness. He leans in and runs the tip of his nose over Magnus’s cheek, sweet and so genuine that Magnus has to fight the need to kiss him.

“Then you must be a man of very few needs,” Everest says, leaning back in his seat, some of the humor gone out of his voice. “No pet is so good as that. Not truly.”

Taako tips his head up, and the glare he levels down his nose at Everest is very real.

“Maybe you should stop buying things on sale and pay full price, for once.”

Everest sits forward in his seat, his green eyes wide and wild and focused on Magnus.

“How much?”

Magnus blinks.

“How… much?”

“For the boy. The pet. This one here, _how much_?”

Taako falls quiet again. Magnus laughs but his stomach gives a sickly churn.

“Not all the gold on this continent could part me from him,” Magnus replies, and it’s so very true that it came out instantly.

“Careful,” Everest says, fumbling at his waist and coming up with a sizeable pouch that jingles and lands with a thud when he drops it on the table. “I don’t speak lightly when I say I’ll pay any amount.”

“Gold doesn’t sway me,” Magnus says, and his arm has tightened around Taako without even realizing it. Taako curls into him, head on his cheek, his silence strangely heartbreaking. “I am not toying with you. The answer is and will remain: no.”

“Ah, but perhaps something more valuable than gold. Something no one else has, a proper trade for your darling elf here.”

Taako pinches Magnus’s side through his layers, hard.

Magnus pauses, both for show and for real. He squeezes Taako’s side gently in response.

“Nothing could convince me to part from him forever. But… perhaps for a night. I might listen.”

Everest sneers, dropping his linen on the table and making to stand up.

“That is preposterous. No pet alive is worth the Dazzling Light for just a single night. Not even one so beautiful as--”

Magnus’s heart races.

“I’m a virgin,” Taako blurts out.

Everyone within hearing distance turns to look at Taako.

“I… he’s been saving it. S-Saving me, for his birthday. We’ve done other stuff, _believe me_,” Taako says with a quirked eyebrow and a smirk. “But we haven’t gone, like. All the way. Not yet.”

“And my birthday’s tomorrow,” Magnus adds.

“My, my,” Everest purrs, looking at Taako with renewed interest. “Being the first for such an exquisite creature. Beating out even his Master at the chance to fuck him first. That is tempting, indeed.”

“My virginity,” Taako says, every bit the trickster and the brilliant mental gymnast Magnus has loved for years, “for this Light you speak of.”

“Tonight only,” Magnus clarifies, and he’s holding onto Taako so tight that Taako lets out a soft whine.

Everest stands up, his full height still several inches smaller than Magnus. He holds his hand out and grins.

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”

“And you’ve got yourself a virgin!” Taako says with a clap as Magnus shakes Everest’s hand. 

Everest’s home is a genuine castle, complete with a drawbridge and armed men guarding the entrance. The inside is no less impressive, but it’s drafty and impersonal and quiet, like every one who dwells here is discontent and finds nothing worth discussing.

Magnus can’t decide whether he wants Taako walking in front of him so he can watch his back or behind him so he can block anyone they encounter from touching him, but Taako takes the decision from him and walks beside him.

“It’ll be fine. Trust me. I’ve got this,” Taako says quietly as they’re lead down a low lit hallway towards a large, iron door. There are no guards, and the hallway is bare except for a single chair next to the door which opens when they stop in front of it. The guards who brought them here leave without a word, and Magnus’s eyes focus on Everest who’s standing in front of him, wearing only a green, silken robe and is grinning at Taako.

“The light first,” Magnus says, grabbing at Taako again and holding him close to his side.

Everest laughs.

“Yeah. Okay. Like I’m going to give you the light before I get inside of him. You’ll receive it afterwards or not at all.” Everest opens the door wider, revealing the large, candlelit room beyond. Magnus feels queasy again, feels the bile burning at the back of his throat.

He’s close, so very close, to saying fuck this world and taking Taako back to the ship. Let this fucking world burn. It’s not worth it. Not worth this.

“Yeah, sure, whatevs,” Taako sighs, and he tries to pull away from Magnus to go into Everest’s room, but Magnus holds tight.

“Taako, you don’t have to do this,” he says quietly, aware but uncaring that Everest is watching, seeing everything.

“Turns out I was his type afterall,” Taako shrugs, his smile small but genuine. He gives Magnus’s hand a squeeze but doesn’t let go.

“You say my name if shit goes sideways. I’ll break down the goddamn door, if I have to.” Magnus cups his cheek and runs a thumb over the pale skin beneath Taako’s eye. They’ve never kissed, but this feels so close to it that Magnus is almost breathless.

“I’d say your name anyway,” Taako whispers, lifting up onto the tips of his toes to say it against Magnus’s lips, leaving the words there as he turns with a rush of fabric and disappears into the room, leaving Everest to grin at Magnus.

“Please, have a seat right here. Shouldn’t be more than a few hours.”

The door closes at that. A heavy bar is thunked down from the other side, barring any entrance inside. Magnus itches for his battleaxe back on the ship, but right now, he’s pretty fucking sure he could punch that door open with his rage alone.

The chair is straight-backed and uncushioned, and it’s way too small for someone the size of Magnus to wait in while he listens to the man he’s secretly loved for way too long now be fucked by the slimiest bastard they’d met on their travels yet.

He sits anyway, and he leans back against the stone wall with a long, slow exhale of breath that he’s held for way too long. He closes his eyes and wishes he had it in him to hum or pace or go wait in the carriage. Something. Something to get him away from this, this thing that they can never take back or forget, no matter how many times they reset.

The absolute silence from before resumes, and Magnus draws the shortsword from his belt and waits.

He wonders how Taako looks, when he’s like this. When he knows what’s about to happen and what is wanted from him. He wonders if he looks seductive, or if he’s feigning boredom to rile Everest up. He wonders who will kiss who first. If Taako makes noises while he’s being kissed. Who will start to undress who. What Taako looks like naked. If he’s cold. If he’s flushed or if he’s already aroused, nipples and his cock hard with anticipation.

Everest better be gentle with him, goddamnit. He fucking better be tender and considerate and yeah, Taako is probably most definitely not actually a virgin, but Everest better treat him like he is. Lots of oil, lots of prep, lots of kissing and reassuring words and patience, because if any of that is missing, _any_ of it, Magnus will--

A low thump from inside the bedroom.

Magnus swallows hard and grips the hilt of his sword.

This is insane. This is by far the most ridiculous thing they’ve ever done to retrieve the Light, and that includes the time they froze Merle in a block of ice for a week. It’s not worth it. Not worth Taako’s agency and dignity, any of the fear or discomfort or shame he may feel afterwards. This isn’t okay.

Magnus shoots up to his feet, his heart racing. He lifts his fist to slam it against the door when he hears Taako laugh from inside, a bursting, amused laugh.

Magnus deflates and backs down. Returns to the chair.

He’s just… gotta trust Taako.

The next forty-five minutes are excruciating. The thick stone walls muffle most of the sound, but one leaks through every so often, a quiet voice or a bump against the wall or something sliding across the floor. What if he drugged Taako? Or knocked him out? What if Taako’s dead in there and Everest is disposing of the body? What if Everest has got buddies in there, waiting their turn with Taako?

“Oh, fuck no,” Magnus declares to absolutely no one, and he’s on his feet again. There’s a crash from inside and a deafening thud against the door, both of which startle Magnus to stumble back. The door opens and there’s Taako, his hair loose and curling everywhere, and he’s naked except for purple lace panties and Everest’s emerald green robe, left open and falling off one shoulder.

He’s got his wand in one hand and a sizeable bag in the other, one that has bright streams of light bursting from it at the top, near Taako’s hand. His eyes are massive and he’s beaming, and Magnus can only stare at him.

“You absolute twat!” Everest screams from the bedroom.

“Time to go!” Taako says.

Magnus puts his size and fury to good use on the way out, shouldering guards and punching the ones who aren’t dissuaded so easily. The carriage they’d purchased in town for this heist is waiting outside for them, the driver dozing, horses clomping restlessly on the cobblestone.

“Go, dude, go!” Magnus shouts as they leap into the carriage, and Taako nearly tumbles out of the open door when they take off into the night.

They clear the gateway and rush back out onto the dark road back into town, and only then does Magnus exhale, looking away from the retreating castle behind them and turning his attention to Taako.

Taako opens the bag a little bit, and the Light floods the tiny space they’re in, lighting up both their faces and a good deal of the road to either side of their carriage. 

They sigh in relief simultaneously.

“What did you do?!” Magnus says with a laugh as Taako tucks the Light away near their feet and pulls on the robe that’s too thin and slippery to stay up on its own.

“Oh, nothing, really.” Taako shrugs, trying to pull his hair into something reasonable and not quite succeeding. “Just told him I wanted to try bondage. Yanno, for my first time. Asked him if I could tie him up. Casted Sleep on him and went through all his shit til I found the Light.”

“Ah, that old chestnut,” Magnus says, grinning so hard his cheeks ache.

“Human dudes think with their dicks. They’re pretty easy to figure out.”

Magnus pauses where he’s taking off his thick winter coat and raises an eyebrow at Taako.

“I don’t think with _my_ dick.”

Taako holds Magnus’s gaze as Magnus takes off his coat and drapes it around Taako’s shoulders, neither of them talking as he helps Taako get his arms through the sleeves. He curls up in the long, warm length, tucking his legs and feet beneath it and snuggling into the collar.

“Mmm. Thanks, Mags.”

Magnus moves to Taako’s side of the carriage and pulls him tight against himself, offering up his own inherent warmth as the cold night air seeps into the rickety carriage taking them back to town.

“I know you don’t,” Taako says. Magnus stays quiet, waits him out. “Think with your dick, I mean. You look like you would. I mean, fuck. When I first met you, I just knew you were leaving like forty bastard kids behind when we left for the mission, but that’s not how you roll. It’s weird, for sure. But, I trust you now.”

Magnus tucks his face into Taako’s hair and holds him, tight and unfaltering.

“And I don’t really trust anybody,” Taako adds, his arms wrapping around Magnus’s middle, clutching at him.

“If anything had happened to you, Taako,” he starts, his voice so low it’s barely audible above the rush of wheels and horse hooves, “I would have let the Hunger have this place. Let it fucking destroy everything.”

“I’m rechargeable, Magsy,” Taako reminds him, but he hugs up even closer. “No need for all that.”

“Did he… did…”

Taako doesn’t say anything. Magnus clears his throat quietly.

“Did he?”

Taako hums in question.

“Touch you?” Magnus forces out, and he has to close his eyes and focus on his counting like Lucretia had taught him to stay calm, to hear Taako out.

“Only a little,” Taako replies, casual as anything. “Minimal. Minimal touching and hanky panky.”

Magnus sighs. He can’t help it.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! Max hit points. Just a little fuckin’ cold. And pissed because I loved that dress.” He rustles in Magnus’s arms and looks over his shoulder back towards the road behind them.

“Taako,” Magnus whispers. His own hands are warm and desperate, and he touches the bare skin beneath the robe, palms sliding over Taako’s ribs. Taako looks back over at him, but it’s slow, like he’s been ready for this for hours. For weeks or years.

Magnus strokes up Taako’s sides and feels him shiver under the touch, and Magnus has his lap full of beautiful, soft elf once again. He rubs at the dip in Taako’s back and leans in to catch his mouth with his own, finding Taako waiting and hot-mouthed and utterly open to him.

They kiss as the carriage rocks and Taako quakes in his lap and in his arms, and Magnus tastes Taako for the first time, learns his mouth on his tongue and feels the heat of Taako’s panting breath when they draw back as little as possible to breathe.

“You wanna keep playing?” Taako asks against his lips, keeping his mouth soft so Magnus can suck very gently at his top lip. “Like I’m the pet and you’re the master and it’s your birthday?”

Magnus groans, the sound rumbling in his chest and into the dark. The sounds of the city are around them again, and the carriage comes to a stop in front of The Marble Cup where the finest room in the inn is waiting for them.

He scoops Taako up into his arms like a new bride, both of them making sure the Light is hidden away in Taako’s grasp as they make their way inside.

“It’s my birthday!” he announces to the tavern. The room erupts in cheers and calls and offers of buying him a drink, but he continues past them and to the stairs next to the bar without pausing. A stream of whistles follow them up, and Magnus makes sure to lock the door behind them before he puts his pet down on his feet.

“Master,” Taako murmurs demurely. He drops to his knees and runs his hands up Magnus’s thighs, seeking out the thick bulge waiting for him. Magnus leans back against the door and closes his eyes, a hand drifting down to stroke Taako’s silky hair back.

“Best fake birthday ever,” Magnus huffs as his pants are yanked open.


End file.
